Foundations
Part of What an England merchant needs from a platform in 2027, without the broad business counts
Ecommerce platforms business models: five routes compared
Compare five ecommerce platforms business models for an England merchant across control, data, support and exit, with cost information clearly qualified.
What to take away
- The five models split control differently. Shopify and Etsy own the software, WooCommerce leaves code and hosting with the merchant, Adobe Commerce mixes a licence with an agency build, and a manual Stripe route keeps every task in-house.
- Available cost evidence is unevenShopify entry editions around £25 a month, WooCommerce hosting £10 to £60 a month, Etsy a 6.5% transaction fee with its listing fee quoted in US dollars, and Adobe Commerce quoted by contract only. No Stripe processing-fee figure is stated for the manual route.
- Data ownership follows the modelWooCommerce hands over the database, Shopify and Adobe Commerce export on request, and Etsy keeps the buyer relationship.
- Support follows the contract rather than the brand, and every route needs a written exit step agreed before signature.
The five routes on identical fields
This comparison of ecommerce platforms business models covers five routes for one England merchant selling a defined catalogue to adult consumers. Use the same fields for each model so the five answers stay comparable.
Operating models compared
Shopify hosted
- Hosting
- Shopify
- Configuration
- Merchant
- Payments
- Connected services
- Data role
- Merchant
- Export
- Needed
- Exit
- Needed
WooCommerce self-hosted
- Hosting
- Merchant
- Configuration
- Merchant
- Payments
- Extensions
- Data role
- Merchant
- Export
- Needed
- Exit
- Needed
Etsy marketplace
- Hosting
- Etsy
- Configuration
- Seller within rules
- Payments
- Etsy controls
- Data role
- Marketplace
- Export
- Needed
- Exit
- Needed
Control
- Shopify hosted
- Supplier owns software
- WooCommerce
- Merchant owns code and hosting
- Etsy
- Etsy owns marketplace
- Adobe Commerce
- Licence plus agency build
- Manual Stripe
- Merchant keeps every task
Cost basis
- Shopify hosted
- Subscription plus card fees
- WooCommerce
- Hosting, extensions, labour
- Etsy
- Listing, transaction and payment fees
- Adobe Commerce
- Contract, licence, hosting
- Manual Stripe
- Tool subscriptions plus card fees
Data
- Shopify hosted
- Merchant holds order records
- WooCommerce
- Full database access
- Etsy
- Buyer relationship stays with Etsy
- Adobe Commerce
- Merchant owns database
- Manual Stripe
- Files sit with the merchant
Support
- Shopify hosted
- Chat and email
- WooCommerce
- Forums and contractors
- Etsy
- Etsy seller support
- Adobe Commerce
- Agency and Adobe tiers
- Manual Stripe
- Vendor documentation
Etsy keeps the buyer relationship outright, and no seller export changes that.
Available cost information and its limits
The Shopify UK pricing record names hosted editions and notes that some functions vary by country, but does not fix a price. The figures below are indicative and do not make a complete like-for-like UK cost comparison; missing prices are not zero.
Shopify entry editions have typically been quoted around £25 a month in the UK. Card fees fall as the tier rises, and Plus is priced on application.
WooCommerce is a free download, but hosting, extensions, security and support sit with the buyer. Managed WordPress plans typically run £20 to £35 a month, and extensions are often licensed at £50 to £300 a year each.
Etsy publishes its fees separately: a listing fee of about $0.20, a 6.5% transaction fee on the item price plus postage, and UK payment processing around 4% plus £0.20. The listing fee is stated in US dollars here; no GBP conversion is given.
Adobe Commerce has no public UK implementation price. Reported on-premises licence figures sit in the low tens of thousands of pounds a year before build, so leave that field blank rather than invent a number.
No UK Stripe card-processing fee figure is stated for the manual route, so its payment cost cannot be compared numerically here.
The whole-life budget guide separates cash, accounting and economic cost, which matters once implementation dwarfs the licence.
whole-life cost = supplier invoices + payment deductions + implementation + integrations + internal labour + assurance + support + migration + exit
Whole-life cost formula
- Supplier invoicesplatform fees
- Payment deductionstransaction costs
- Implementation + integrationssetup
- Internal labour + supportongoing
- Migration + exitswitching
Example: exit steps in one line
Write the exit step into the contract before signature. Access to records usually ends before the contract does, so the order matters, and a rehearsal proves it.
Exit steps in one line
- Shopifyexport products, orders, customers and content, confirm the deletion date, then cancel the plan.
- WooCommercetake a full database and file backup, move the host, then re-point the DNS records.
- Etsyrequest the seller data download, close the shop, and move saved buyers to your own mailing list.
- Adobe Commerce with an agencyschedule code, access, DNS and hosting handover as a contract milestone.
- Manual Stripenothing to leave, so write the replacement plan and a data-retention rule instead.
A named owner and a rehearsal date make each line testable. The contract schedules guide covers the data roles and exit terms to attach to each route.
VAT, marketplace liability and distance selling
HMRC's guidance on selling through a marketplace or direct to customers sets out the rule. VAT treatment depends on whether goods are sold directly or through a marketplace.
An Etsy-style sale can move the VAT collection point, while a Shopify or WooCommerce shop leaves VAT accounting with the seller. Register once taxable turnover passes the published test on GOV.UK.
Distance selling adds a second layer. The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 give consumers cancellation and pre-contract information rights that hosted checkouts only partly cover.
Support, accessibility and the contract
Support follows the contract, not the logo. Shopify gives chat and email with a priority tier on Plus. WooCommerce has no vendor support, so the host, forums and paid contractors share the load. Etsy owns the checkout and the dispute process, and Adobe Commerce depends on the agency contract plus Adobe tiers.
Ask every route for a WCAG 2.2 AA conformance statement with test results, plus a restore test and a named termination path.
The platform risk scenarios test what happens when support, access or a supplier fails.
Common questions
Which of the five models gives the merchant the most control?
WooCommerce on your own hosting, or the manual route, because you hold the code, the database and the hosting contract. Shopify, Etsy and Adobe Commerce under an agency all keep some control with the supplier.
Who owns the customer data in each model?
The merchant owns records on Shopify, WooCommerce and Adobe Commerce, with the agency acting as a processor. Etsy keeps the buyer relationship, so seller export is limited.
Does selling through Etsy change my VAT position?
It can. HMRC sets out that treatment depends on whether the sale is direct or through a marketplace. A tax adviser has to classify the actual transaction.
